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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29404437">A lotus flower blooms twice</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charg3e/pseuds/Charg3e'>Charg3e</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, I will, a lil, and, at the end, but not rly, dont worry, drunk, i WAS, i should write more pole sisters, its, one day, slpy as fuck its 2 am, well i mean</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 10:16:13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,167</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29404437</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charg3e/pseuds/Charg3e</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
      <p>Title makes no sense</p><p>I am slpy nthn new there<br/>have fun<br/>comment if u want but its cool if u dont<br/>have fun</p>
    </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aria "Alibi" de Luca/Nienke "Iana" Meijer, Nienke</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A lotus flower blooms twice</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Title makes no sense</p><p>I am slpy nthn new there<br/>have fun<br/>comment if u want but its cool if u dont<br/>have fun</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Aria misses her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She misses the warm smiles shot her way in the early mornings, the soft kisses that landed on her drowsy face when her lover finally goes to bed after midnight. Pleasant cuddles on the couch during movie nights with Adriano, and the lightness in her heart when she sees her love on the couch awaiting her return.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Their jobs never made it easy for it to happen, there was no confirmation that once they left on a mission, they would make it home. Aria went out on the field and came back with injuries that scar, that she hides under concealer on spy missions and reveals in the safety of her lover’s arms. It’s a haven, she realises. It’s a haven, she fears. Nienke is terrifically wonderful, she sends shocks into Aria’s heart and it is terrifying. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She’s terrified. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She runs away from Nienke, avoids her at every step and takes the bunk above Adriano rather than Nienke’s single bed in the same room. She feels Nienke’s eyes losing their light slowly and she wants to kiss it away but she’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>scared</span>
  </em>
  <span>. She turns away to avoid the questioning gaze and lets her go. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>_____</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adriano dislikes the situation. He says dislike as hate is too strong a word for the disappointment and anger for what is going on between the two holo users. He attempts to bring it up with Aria, who brushes him off until he mentions a mission that she knew nothing about. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not surprising, the one disconnect in their relationship is their lack of knowledge about one another’s missions. Nienke takes care to only find out when she leaves and when she should return, Aria lives each day like it’s their last. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adriano looked at Aria with solemn eyes, dark brown that threatened to act for her if she refused to do so herself. Adriano isn’t Nienke, he is comfortable, stable, her heart calms under his steady gaze. The older man listens to her, she reveals only what is necessary.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adriano is smart, but he doesn’t give any advice. Only nods and says,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Talk to her.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She wants to, she has to. Yet her body leads her to turn away when she sees Nienke in her gear adjusting her gloves as she converses with Ela, to which the artist scoffs and Nienke laughs. It hurts to hear it come as a result of someone else, she feels the GROM operative’s eyes on her, and she walks away faster. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>_____</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Couldn’t even say goodbye, I didn’t take you for a coward, </span>
  <em>
    <span>de Luca.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ela enters the lab when Aria takes her Prismas to Masaru for a tune up for the Program.. Masaru looks at the door once and retreats back into testing the displays. Leaving the two women to their own devices. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ela slams her hands on Aria’s desk and they enter a staring contest of which neither were willing to lose. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Until Ela looks away with a scoff, much like the one she gave Nienke just an hour ago. She points an accusing finger at Aria’s face, and grumbles out,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I said goodbye to Zofia for fucks sake, you couldn’t even say goodbye to your girlfriend? Seriously?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aria leans back into her chair, and glares at the finger until Ela pulls her in by the collar. She stares into the currently shattered soul of Aria’s dead hazel eyes and threatens,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nienke is my </span>
  <em>
    <span>friend</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I don’t give two shits if you’re her girlfriend and love of her life. If you don’t talk to her when she gets back I’m team killing you in the match against Vincente.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ela lets her go after she pushes the offending hand off the collar of the hoodie. She leaves after taking a file off the shelves and muttering something to herself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>_____</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aria takes three days to come to the realisation that she is extremely inarticulate with her emotions and that it was a blessing that Nienke was one of the two persons she trusted most to have learned to read her body language.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She should have done something to show that she </span>
  <em>
    <span>cared. </span>
  </em>
  <span>She knows which chances to take on the field, undercover she has to make decisions that she wishes not to discuss. She keeps quiet about a lot of things, and when she makes an effort to try. She’s welcomed with warmth and understanding and she realises once again she doesn’t want to let it go.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nienke has been waiting on her for so long.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s time she reciprocated, but there is a wrench tossed in her plans.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She has no idea when Nienke will be back, and the Program requires extensive training that will definitely take up a lot of time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But she will wait for Nienke, it’s the least she deserves.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>_____</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s playday 1, Eliza is on the floor after Shah pushes her down a flight of stairs in a fit of rage. The red team captain struggles to stand up by herself, and it’s a shock to even the sniper when she inevitably falls back down to clutch her left foot, clenching her teeth. Team Mira was on their way out when they saw it happen, and every operator on base who wasn’t involved was watching it on the television. Streamed only for internal use. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Team Vigil was there, which included Aria looking on from the stands.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aruni is the first to make a move, the heart of nighthaven shouts at her boss in a way that draws everyone’s attention. Mira is out right behind her, unaware of the situation until she sees Eliza laying at the bottom of the stairs, on her hands and knees as she shifts her body weight off her leg. Attempting to stand on her own despite the exertion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Elena runs down to aid her as Shah is sent away by Tawanroong, the lead engineer at a loss for what to do when she reaches the last step. Eliza uses her as support until they’re halfway to med. Aria can hear Elena’s cursing from the 3rd stand, and can see Eliza patting her on the back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She can feel the exact moment the atmosphere around them shifts, Elena scoops Eliza into the arms, which no one expects, especially Eliza, who lets out a huff of annoyance but does nothing about it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She can see the way Elena reluctantly hands Eliza over to the medics that were stationed outside the stadium, she can’t see what happens next.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Elena looks pissed, and as Harry buries his head in his hands. She can see the all out brawl starting between the engineer and sniper. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She walks away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>_____</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The incident made for some, interesting sights on base. Observing the others actions and banter had always helped Aria pass time. With Nienke’s mission lasting for lord knows how much longer, it allowed her to read a bit more into the words, the minute movements she tends to miss during the quick once overs.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Eliza pulling the Spaniard back when they spotted Shah in the dining hall, the simple touch calmed the head engineer enough that she merely scoffed instead of charging like a raging bull at the Nighthaven boss. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That </span>
  <em>
    <span>look</span>
  </em>
  <span> in her eyes when she sits with Eliza for lunch, and how much help Eliza is willing to receive from her compared to everyone else. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s incredibly obvious, Aria thinks. She stirs her chamomile as she lets the idea sink in, but there is no time to think about it now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She has her own match in a week after all. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>_____</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s a bust, Lesion was blown back by the airjab and with his location known, they had no chance.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gilles looks at the three of them with a look of, pity? It makes their blood boil, they continue to hit until the time runs out and Vincente sends fire their way. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She and Ela walked off the stadium with a remarkable sense of calm, probably because they worked out the frustration on Mr ‘STAYBEHINDME’. The pole invites her to spar out the rest of their frustrations.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s easy to tell that their feelings weren’t regarding the match, so she agrees. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>_____</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They send Nomad a gift for the victory and fight, Sanaa takes it with a beam and pats Ela on the head. It’s a tiny comfort, from her sister’s best friend.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The pole and dutch duo would return by tomorrow, it comes up in a conversation that had no relation to missions. A talk about flowers with Sanaa turned into incessant teasing and begrudging teasing from Ela and the traveller at Aria. Sanaa takes a sip of her morning coffee and slides them the mission briefing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s a silent read from the two of them when the voice cuts them on the fifth paragraph, </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Interesting mission for the two of them to be chosen for no?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ela rapped her hand against the tabletop, muttering to herself the mission knowledge and Aria could hear a ‘I wish this was my mission’ from her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s comfortable until they’re all called in to their respective teams for briefings.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>_____</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aria’s bed feels empty that night, her body betrays her mind and she chooses to collapse on Nienke’s bed rather than climbing on the top bunk.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She feels what she thinks is Adriano pulling the covers over her shoulders, she blinks open her eyes to confirm her suspicion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She sees Adri laying on the other side sound asleep and looking around, assumes it was him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She goes back to sleep,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She thinks she hears the door close but she’s too deep in her slumber to care.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>_____</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aria wakes before her male counterpart at the lovely time of, 5am. She hobbles her way to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee and sees a familiar figure. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A white blob that shone under the kitchen light, standing beside a brunette that had a bandage wrapped around her neck and left arm.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As she took a step closer, her vision became clearer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If I was just a little faster, maybe I could’ve-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There was nothing you could have done at that point Nienke, it was either them or you both.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The agitation was probably what prompted her to act, a simple morning greeting came out of her lips and spun both women around.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nienke’s eyes lit up when she looked at her, it made Aria’s heart hurt. She felt like running again, but the look in Zofia’s told her she would regret that decision. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She could probably take her though.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zofia sets down two plates of perfectly scrambled eggs in the lounge and carries one out without a word. Nienke sits and lifts her right hand to the chair across her, an invitation to sit down. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aria can see now, Nienke’s left hand is burnt, in fact both her palms are burnt.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She slowly takes the injured palms in her hands, Nienke looks at her with a sad look and asks, like Aria hasn’t been avoiding her for the past month, like Aria hasn’t been hurting everytime she averted her eyes-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I missed you Aria, have you missed me too?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aria has always been more a woman of action, they both are.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So she cups Nienke’s face and attempts to pull her into a chaste kiss, and Nienke - bless this woman - avoids it by landing a small peck on her nose instead. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She’s tilting her head to the said, a slight smile on her face that Aria so desperately wants to kiss, her tousled hair that Aria so desperately wanted to run her fingers through.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She breathes out,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The smile falters and Aria is standing up and moving away and this time, Nienke grabs her. The smaller woman wraps her arms around her back and Aria drops into the crook of her neck. She can feel droplets falling off her face and wetting the sweater that Nienke was wearing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She barely whispers,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t want to lose you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s a vulnerability she didn’t want to admit to, but Nienke is so important to her. Nienke breathes some sort of life into her that she hasn’t felt before, and she’s starting to feel that perhaps she should have been running towards the feeling in her chest rather than away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nienke gently runs her fingers through her disheveled hair, and guides her back to the G.I.S dorms, settling her into the bed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aria can feel the sleep taking over, she can also feel the engineer slipping away. She paws at the side of the bed, hoping that Nienke would get the message. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nienke slides in with her, and Aria is fumbling between not agitating the arm and pulling Nienke close and never letting her go.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They settle for spooning, Aria’s hands wrap around Nienke’s stomach and face snuggled into the soft hair that she had missed seeing. Nienke settles a hand above the ones on her stomach.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They smile, at home in each other's arms.</span>
</p>
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